Wire-tightener



(No Model.)

' W. MoL. GRAHAM.

WIRE TIGHTENER.

No. 391,243. Patented Oct. 16, 1888.

WITNESSES. [JV'VEJVTOR I Cg/I @fi 4% va i I .dtziorn 5,

ihvrrnn STATES PATENT @rrrcn.

\VILLTAM MCLEAN GRAHAM, OF SPARTA, \VISOONSIN.

WIRE-TIGHTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 391,243, dated October 16, 1888.

Application tiled A pril 27, 1888. Serial No. $2.056.

To ctZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1', \VILLIAM hICLEAN GRA- HAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sparta, in the county of Monroe and State of Visconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in V/ireTighteners; and I do declarethe following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to wiretighteners, and has for its object the provision of a device for taking up slack in wire fencing or lines of wire of any description without the necessity of having to loosen the l'astenings that secure the wire to its supports, which will be simple, compact, eificient, and convenient to handle.

The improvei'ncnt consists of a wrench provided with a slot or kerf in its end to receive the wire, having the diagonally-opposite corners of the jaws formed by said slot rounded off, and having a pin which is adapted to be projected across the said slot and work through the two jaws, said pin being connected with and operated by a hand-lever that is pivoted to the wrench, and hereinafter will be more fully described and claimed, and shown in the annexed drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side view, parts being broken away, of a wirc-tightener of my invention; Fig. 2, an end view of the device; Fig. 3, a cross-section on the line X X of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4, a side view showing its application and operation.

The wrench is composed of the head A, the shank B, and the handle 0, set crosswise of the shank for the hand to obtain a leverage when tightening the wire. The head A is provided with a kerf or slot, a, in its end to receive the wire when adjusting the wrench on the wire to be tightened. The jaws D, formed on each side of the slot a, have one pair of their diagonally-opposite corners rounded to permit the slipping of the wire over the ends of the jaws when turning the wrench to form the loop in the wire. The'pin E, working through open- (No model.)

ings in the jaws D, is connected with and operated by the lever F that is pivoted to the head of the wrench. The lower end of the pin E is tapering, so that it can be readily disengaged from the wire after it is tightened sufiiciently. The lever Fis held with its front end resting on the head of the wrench and the pin projected across the slot to by a spring applied at any convenient point, the springG shown being located in a socket or opening, 9, formed in the head of the wrench. The cars or lugs f of the lever are rounded on their lower edge, fit snugly in curved recesses h, formed on each side of the projection H of the head A, and embrace the said projection H, to which they are connected by the pivot I.

In practice the outer end of the lever F is depressed and retracts the pin, so that the wireto be tightened can enter the slot a. Then the lever being released the pin is projected across the slot and retains the wire therein. The wrench is now rotated and forms a loop in the wire, the operation being continued until the wire is sufiiciently tightened, when the device is detached by pressing down on the outer end of the lever F, which withdraws the pin from the loop just formed in the wire. The loop being free can readily slip from between the jaws of the wrench.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

1. The herein described wire tightening wrench having jaws, and having diagonallyopposite corners of the jaws rounded off, and having a pin that is adapted to be projected across the space between the jaws, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The combination, with the wire-tightening wrench having jaws, and having diagonally-opposite ends of the jaws rounded off, and the pin adapted to be projected across the space between the jaws, of the lever and the spring for actuating the lever and holding the pin normally projected across the slot, substantially as described.

The combination, with the wrench having a slot in its end, and having diagonallyopposite ends of the jaws formed by the said slot rounded off, and the pin having its lower end tapering, of the lever having lugs that are In testimony whereofI affix my signature in curved on their lower edges, and which empresence of two witnesses. brace a projection on the head of the Wrench,

T the pin connecting the lugs and projections VILLIAM MOLEAL GRAHAM 5 together, and the spring seated in an opening \Vitnesses: in thewrench, substantially as and for the pur- A. E. HOWARD,

pose described. H. H. L. CHILD. 

